Broken Contract
by Aelfric Maundrell
Summary: At their arrival in the Underworld, Sebastian doesn't take his reward for fulfilling the contract. Instead, the demon does something rather unexpected. As one is still bound to the other, the two are still Master and servant in the underworld. SebaCiel
1. Unexpected

'_Once one has rejected faith, it is impossible for him to pass through the gates of Heaven.'_

All was silent as the ferryman, Sebastian Michaelis, piloted his funeral skiff across the calm waters, the only movement -aside from the skiff itself- was the faint images of a young man's Magic Play flickering just beneath aquatic the surface. His sad eyes paid little attention to the course ahead of him, he had traversed this path so many times he knew he could very well navigate it with his eyes closed, but on the flickering film pieces playing out all around him. Even though he had heard much of the events that occurred throughout his passenger's life, certain things were still a shock even to him.

Ciel Phantomhive, his young passenger, stared straight ahead, trying not to look at the events, both good and terrible, that shaped his short life. But the way he had his head tilted ever so slightly to the left clearly showed that he was observing each event that passed by him, that he was silently reliving each moment in his mind…To his ferryman, to his former butler and loyal servant, it was obvious the bad moments easily trumped the good.

A soft sigh was just barely heard, if anyone had been on the journey with them, it would have been impossible to tell which had made the noise as neither of them moved. Not even the slightest twitch of the shoulder or partial parting of the lips. Sebastian wished there was something more he could do, even though he had basically made a deal with the devil, Ciel's life should have lasted much longer. It wasn't like a demon to have feelings beyond anything but business, but serving Ciel and his purpose as he had for two years, he couldn't help but feel an attachment to his young master.

They were both jolted out of their blank stares as the skiff softly hit the docks. The demon butler could feel Ciel's growing apprehension as he tied their small mode of transportation to the dock. His young master hid his emotions well, it was sometimes impossible to tell exactly what he was thinking…But he was only twelve, the fear of not only death, but forever losing his soul was only human.

Ciel stood carefully in the skiff and stood blankly ahead, silently commanding Sebastian to do what it was he needed to do. As his butler scooped him up with his remaining arm and stepped onto the wooden docks, he cast one more glance at the water to see if his Magic Play was still performing for him. It wasn't.

Sebastian held him carefully in his right arm, giving his young master enough room to actually sit in his strong hold, and slowly walked through the darkened ruins that was hell. They traveled in silence, Sebastian's eyes staring blankly ahead while Ciel's occasionally flicked about with curiosity…everything seemed so silent, so peaceful, there was no fire and brimstone…this couldn't be hell. Was this just the final pity that Sebastian felt he should bestow upon him? He grumbled to himself, he hated pity.

Before he could open his mouth to protest, to demand Sebastian take him to the real hell -whatever or wherever that was- they stopped. Again, Ciel's eyes flicked about, this place seemed no different. No fire, no brimstone, no eternally damned souls screaming for a salvation that would never come…the stories and what really was were two completely different things.

Still without saying a word, Sebastian moved towards a stone bench in what looked to be the remains of a building long since ruined. His steps were slow, but his long strides made him seem if he was in a hurry, which sent another wave of uncomfortable apprehension down Ciel's spine.

The sense of urgency quickly went away as Sebastian seemed reluctant to put Ciel down. The apparent change of pace sent several different questions running through the blue-clad boy's mind, the most prominent being why Sebastian seemed so hesitant. A demon like him lived on souls and, as far as Ciel knew, he had had none since they made the contract. The only soul Sebastian wanted was his.

As Sebastian sat him down on the cold stone bench, Ciel immediately became distant, even more so than he normally was when his emotions overwhelmed him. With half-lidded eyes, he stared up blankly up at Sebastian, his butler, his ferryman…his deliverer to hell, "…Is this going to hurt?.."

Sebastian smiled softly, taking the respectful position he always did in front of figures who were above his given station; standing straight with his right hand placed over his chest, and nodded, "Yes, it will just a little. But I'll try to make it as painless as p---"

"No." Ciel cut him off with a blunt order, "I want you to make it as _painful _as you possibly can. I want my final pain to be etched as deep as it can be into my very soul…" The commanding air left his eyes as he looked away, "…don't take any pity on me…"

Sebastian closed his eyes and bowed his head slightly, "Yes, my lord."

In a smooth motion, he brought his gloved right hand up to his mouth, took the fabric at the very tips of his fingers in his teeth and pulled away, baring his hand of the article of clothing. He reached out and, despite the boy's palpable fear, Ciel did not flinch away, he readily accepted what was to come and brought a familiar smile to Sebastian's face.

Regardless of Ciel's demand for pain, Sebastian's touch as a gentle one as he slipped off his young master's eye patch, revealing the luminescent seal covering once blue iris. Ciel closed his eyes as his eye patch hit the cold ground beneath them, finding Sebastian's touch oddly comforting, which only the demon's smile widen.

Saying nothing more, Sebastian leaned in, opening his mouth just slightly, he could taste the spice of hatred on Ciel's soul even before coming in contact with it. The thickness, the heaviness of the pain, it made his mouth water…he wanted it badly but, as he leaned in, he found he wanted something else…

Ciel's eyes snapped open, wide with both shock and surprise as Sebastian pressed his lips to his own. He knew his ferryman, his former servant, was to take his soul now that the deal was complete, but was this the way to do it? Or was the humiliation of having another man kiss him the final pain that was to be etched into his damned soul?

He waited for the feeling of his soul forever leaving what he assumed was merely an illusion cast upon him by the underworld he would never get to roam…not that he truly wanted to walk through the hell he was immediately damned to on his tenth birthday. He wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to be feeling, but he had demanded pain, yet he felt nothing. Nothing but Sebastian's warm lips against his.

When Sebastian felt no attempt to return the kiss from his young master, he pulled away, a faint glint of disappointment shone in his blood red eyes. Keeping in the respectful mannerisms of a once and forever loyal butler, he said nothing and awaited the questions that were sure to come.

A silence that could only be described as uncomfortably awkward preceded any sort of reaction from the last member of the Phantomhive family. Cautious hands pressed against his chest, not feeling for a heartbeat as he knew he no longer had one, but feeling as a blind man would to 'see' what was in front of him.

"I..." he began, obviously confused about what had -or hadn't- happened. "I'm alive?" He seldom felt confused, he could easily say it was a feeling he didn't like, that dislike shone clearly in his haunting blue eyes, "Sebastian," The familiar tone of annoyance was clear in his young voice, "why am I still here? You upheld your end of the contract, allow me to fulfill mine!" an odd sense of determination about the matter masked his annoyance, "Take my soul!"

Sebastian smiled a little, even now, his young master was true to his word, no matter how terrifying the word he had made was. With his normal, almost calming voice, he finally spoke, "I cannot."

Ciel gritted his teeth in frustration, but surprise glimmered in his eyes, "Why not?!" Demons were about their principles, he knew well enough that Sebastian wouldn't back out of the Contract...Unless his end of the deal had yet to be completed. An uncomfortable pang of anger, guilt, and resentment towards not only himself, but Sebastian and many others as well, shot through him like a guard's bullet. Had he really died before his time? Had he taken the coward's way out by letting himself fall from that bridge?

This alone made him wish that his soul, and even his physical self, was festering somewhere inside his former butler.

A soft, mildly regretful smile graced the face of the demon in a human guise as he held up his right hand, which he had bared of his clean white glove just moments ago. Without verbally answering Ciel's question, he turned his hand so that the back was facing his young master, revealing that it was void of the black mark that bound them to each other in life.

Ciel still didn't quite understand, and it showed in both his face and tone, "It was on your l---"

A deep, almost amused chuckle rose from Sebastian's throat as he attempted to move the arm that the massacring angel, Ash, had removed. The 'phantom limb' he could still feel and still wished he had for a number of reasons, "The mark that binds is no longer mine."

Ciel scoffed, "That shouldn't matter towards your end of the bargain..."

"A contract doesn't matter in the least if both signatures aren't present, young master."

"If we're no longer bound, then stop calling me 'young master'." Ciel spoke in near disgust, but he looked away in slight disappointment. Sebastian had become a rather comfortable, as well as incredibly useful, part of his life. Only now did he realize that he hated to let him go.

Again, saying nothing for the moment, he gently used his right hand to brush away the hair blocking Ciel's right eye, revealing only to himself that the seal that bound servant to master was still in the twelve-year-old's iris.

Despite the fact that he still wasn't free, he smiled warmly, "Our contract was broken long before this, I'm certain...I left my post for far too long. I momentarily renounced my service to you during the fire in the streets London." An apologetic sigh passed over his lips before he continued, "Losing my arm, losing my personal link to your soul as collateral for my services was my punishment..." he moved his hand away from Ciel's face and lowered himself to one knee, bowing respectfully to his master as he always had, "You no longer belong to me...But I will now forever belong to you, my lord."

Slowly, he raised his head, showing his normally calm smile, "As I promised you before, I will forever be at your side, even as you traverse through the void of hell."

Ciel looked away, a smug look on his face, "As expected of my pawn…I…thank you for being among my most loyal."

"Nothing less should be expected from a servant of the Phantomhive family."

Still keeping his gaze averted, Ciel nodded in agreement. After a moment, a delicate, uncharacteristic blush rose on his face as he remembered the kiss, "…the lip contact?.." He asked with a tone of uncertainty.

Sebastian chuckled, "Merely a kiss, my lord. Did you enjoy it?"

"Enjoy it?!" Ciel huffed as he snapped his head to look back at Sebastian, his face was burning, but he couldn't tell if it was embarrassment or if he was pleasantly flustered, "How on earth could I have enjoyed it?! You're another man!" He raised his hand to slap Sebastian, to put his permanent servant in his place once more, "I'm engaged to Li---" He stopped himself and brought his hand back, apology in his eyes even though Sebastian had not flinched, "…to Lizzy…" How could he possibly say that? Before they could even say ''til death do us part', death had already parted them.

Sebastian looked up his young master with his nearly unreadable eyes. He could see the sadness in those deep blue eyes, Ciel may not have actually loved Elizabeth, but it was easy to see he regretted leaving her alone in the world of the living. "Young Master?.."

Ceil looked away, this time, he knew it was embarrassment burning his face…Embarrassment that he actually did enjoy the kiss Sebastian gave him a moment ago, "…"

Sebastian chuckled and rose from his respective bow, "Come, let's go."

Ciel looked up at him with confusion in his eyes, "Go? Go where?" Where was there to go in this literally god-forsaken place? When Sebastian didn't answer him, he nodded, finally understanding, and once again took up a commanding air, "Sebastian, I order you to take me back up to the land of the living. Give me back my life."

The common smile once again returned to Sebastian's face as he again placed his hand in the middle of his chest and bowed his head, confirming the order and his absolute obligation to fulfill it, "Yes, my lord."


	2. Don't Leave

Sebastian moved out of his obedient position and extended his only hand to Ciel. After the kiss, Ciel was a little hesitant; if a touch of the hand sent his heart to racing would Sebastian feel it? If a physical reaction like that was noticeable, if Sebastian was able to feel it, it would brand him as weak...the Earl of the cursed Phantomhive family was supposed to feel only malice...even if there was nothing to direct those feelings towards anymore, he had no time for feelings of attraction. There was simply no place in his heart for it, that's all he had to keep telling himself.

Finally feeling bold enough, having pushed all feelings of uncertain affection from his mind, he took his butler's hand and almost immediately swore to himself. The second his fingertips brushed against Sebastian's strong hand, his heart skipped a beat...even though his dead heart no longer needed to beat, the sensation of it pounding still shook his body. Sebastian's accompanying smirk didn't help with his immediate embarrassment.

Sebastian's large hand closed around his master's and he gently tugged the boy out of his seat on the bench. As Ciel rose to get up from the bench be was placed on, he caught his dress shoes on a raised crack in the ruined pavement and, with a shocked gasp, fell into Sebastian. His small hand gripped at Sebastian's uniform and he refused to look up at the demon's face as he was absolutely certain the expression it held was a smug one, "..."

Sebastian's chest rose and fell with an exasperated sigh, "You've scuffed your shoes, young master...and there's nothing down here for me to properly shine them with."

Ciel's face burned as Sebastian spoke, his butler's voice had never effected him so much before, "What does it matter?" he asked, his annoyed tone thicker than normal. He dared to look up as he asked his question only to quickly snap his head away in embarrassment. Despite his tone, Sebastian's expression was indeed a smug one. "It's not as if I have a reason to look presentable as I trip about through hell..."

"Presentation is everything, young master. What would people think if you came back to the world of the living with scuffed shoes?" he seemed rather disappointed with himself the more he continued, "Why, they'd think that the butler of the Phantomhive family is no longer fit to carry out the simplest task of polishing your shoes."

Ciel huffed, "I'm certain they would be more surprised that I came back in the first place...if I matter at all, my appearance will be far from their mind."

"You matter a great deal, my lord." Sebastian smiled, "Regardless, I'll be certain to polish your shoes as soon as I am able."

Ciel backed away from Sebastian as he was no longer comfortable being so close to his once and forever loyal butler. He knew it wasn't due to anything Sebastian had said or done…he was speaking as he always did , and the kiss did feel quite nice…it was just, now that there was nothing for him to direct his ever remaining hatred towards, the disturbing feelings of attraction he had fought to stave off were beginning to come to light. He was making his own self dreadfully uncomfortable.

He sighed and looked away, running an annoyed hand through his hair, "...You can be such an idiot sometimes..."

Sebastian held back a chuckle, he had been informed of his apparent idiocy many times since he came into Ciel's life, the comment was now very commonplace, "Indeed I can be." Without further comment he gently brushed past Ciel and began to walk on, another smirk coming to his face as he felt the brief change in his master's emotional state.

Ciel quickly turned to face Sebastian, who now had his back to him, a sudden and frightfully familiar feeling of abandonment shot like a lightning bolt down his spine, "Sebastian! Where the hell are you going?"

"As you commanded, my Lord, I'm leading you back to the world of the living." Sebastian looked back at his master with a lingering smile, "Is that not what you wanted?"

In the silence, the sound of Ciel's teeth gritting together in annoyance was all too noticeable, "Yes, that's what I wanted!" He jabbed an angry finger towards the direction in which they had just came, the long repressed feeling Sebastian had dug up by walking away was obviously taking its toll on his young mind, "The skiff is back that way, take me back through Thames River!"

Sebastian stopped and turned, the half-lidded expression on his face said he was slightly confounded by his master's outburst over what he felt to be nothing, "Young master, have you learned nothing in your short life?" His tone was not a mocking one, rather a calm, concerned one, "Nothing is ever easy. Taking you back on the skiff would only result in us landing on the same dock. No matter how far it feels we have traveled, no matter which direction you may command me to take, the river we sail on leads to the same place."

Ciel looked away, embarrassment of his childish outburst burning his face, "I see…" His voice was low, nearly a whisper, "…why didn't you tell me that a moment ago? And why did you choose to walk so far ahead?"

"You backed away from me first, my lord, I assumed you wanted your space."

"I did…" Ciel paused a moment, trying to get a hold of himself. Even though he was no longer a member of the living, even though he had no one to hide from behind a cold façade, he needed to keep his walls up…Keeping his walls from crumbling was the only thing keeping him from doing the very same, "…I no longer do…not as much as you're giving me now."

The demon's mouth twitched at the corners as he fought an amused smile, "Come then," He reached out to his master with his only arm, the amused smile that tried to push through was now replaced completely with a gentle smile that betrayed his demonic nature, "I won't dare leave your side for more than a scant few minutes from here until you once again breathe your very last."

"Thank you, Sebastian…" Ciel's eyes were cold as he stepped forward; again he was trying to guard himself, getting close to someone only meant heartache, heartache was a pain that he wasn't going to deal with again…not in the next life or any others.

Regardless of what he was continuously trying to convince himself of on the inside, as he reached out for Sebastian's hand, he clung to it like a frightened child.

Through his master's tight grip, Sebastian could feel each emotion that pulsed through the boy's body; the fright, the doubt, the regret, guilt, and sadness. Sebastian returned the grip Ciel applied to his hand. Ciel stared blankly ahead, but Sebastian could tell in less than a second that the child was grateful for the sense of protection in the foreign place.

As Sebastian began to take the first step forward, Ciel quickly made the effort to keep the pace. Curiosity glinted in his presently dull eyes as he looked up at his butler, "…How long will this take, Sebastian?"

Sebastian didn't tilt his head in the slightest, but he nearly met his master's gaze from the corner of his eyes, "I am unsure…such an endeavor as you have ordered has yet to be attempted."

Ciel's eyes widened with both shock and oncoming anger, "Are you saying this is impossible?"

"No." His voice was blunt; his wordless way of telling his master to remember to keep his temper in check, "I'm simply saying that it has not been attempted. The contract between master and servant has never been broken before, not in the shameful way mine has been. Those who are brought here by means such as tether of sin have simply accepted their fate…" He chuckled softly, "Not everyone is as stubborn as you are, young master."

His final compliment brought a small twitch of a smile to Ciel's face, "Did you expect anything less of me?"

"Not an iota less."

Something in his butler's tone disappointed him... It sounded like a halfhearted, generic answer rather than a genuine one, "Sebastian." his tone clearly indicated his uncertain annoyance, "What do you really think of me? Nearly everything I've heard you say in terms of my image seems to be blunt and rehearsed, no matter how you may try to phrase it..."

Sebastian seemed rather confused at the question, it seemed so out of place given the situation as well as the person, "Everything I've said about you, in both praise and disdain, has been nothing but what I felt at the time, my Lord. It is not a butler's place to speak out of turn to his master, even less so for him to lie...I apologize sincerely if I have made you feel that I am not being truthful..."

"You didn't answer my question..."

"Indeed I did, my Lord."

Ciel gritted his teeth and jerked his hand away from Sebastian's, "It was not a satisfactory answer! I demand you answer it again!" He snapped his head up to meet his Butler's face, there was fire in his eyes, an anger even he couldn't place.

Sebastian stared down at his young master, complete surprise about the boy's behavior showing in his red eyes. He wished to answer the question with a question of his own, but as it was an order, his mouth was but a floodgate for the thoughts of his mind, "Young master…" he stopped and fell to one knee, bowing in respect for his lord as he spoke his truth, "For three years I have accompanied you through your life. Through death, I still walk by your side. In the time I've been granted with you I've seen malice, treachery, hatred, and arrogance." Just speaking the words caused his mouth to water, "All of which are emotions that fester within one's soul…and whet the appetite of a demon such as myself…"

Ciel stared down at Sebastian, waiting for him to continue, his angry eyes boring holes into the top of Sebastian's skull. The answer being given still wasn't one that satisfied him.

"I have also witnessed kindness, compassion, and caring. Granted, I will say that the appearance of these emotions is as rare as a blue moon, but you shine when you bring them to light." After a moment, he dared to look up to meet the still angry eyes of his master, "…But I've seen far more than what you allow others to view. I've seen your fear, guilt for events you couldn't have possibly prevented; I've felt pain emanating from you so strongly that it burned even me…

"What I will say about you, young master, what I think of you is this; you're human. You've taken on the burdening emotions that only adults of your kind should experience after they've lived long enough to look back at past regrets…You've lived as an adult would, forsaking your stolen childhood…" He paused, "I'm not entirely sure if this is the answer you were looking for, my lord, but not everyone can survive summoning a demon. Contracts are made by many, some experienced adults, and the demon in question is able to collect immediately due to the inability of the human to handle it. My answer to your question is simply this; you're a strong young man and you're to be admired…which I do a great deal."

Sebastian's eyes locked with Ciel's and, for a moment, they merely stared at each other. Ciel didn't seem to be moved in the slightest, his eyes seemed blank, and emotionless…the one good thing Sebastian found to take into account was, his master no longer seemed angry.

Ciel finally hung his head, his hair shadowing his eyes, "…" His body began shaking and tears streamed down his face. "…Damn it…" he growled to himself through clenched teeth, no one was ever supposed to see him cry. He fell to his knees, he hated feeling so weak, but after all that had happened, he needed to let go.

"S-s-sebastian…" he tried to speak his butler's name clearly, but it easily became lost in his sobs. There was nothing more he could say at the moment.

Sebastian sighed and shifted in his position to move closer to Ciel and wrap his arm around his master. "…" He had never seen Ciel in such a state; he had no words to say to comfort the boy…and he wasn't even whole enough to give a complete hug.

Ciel instinctively moved to grip onto Sebastian's uniform as he continued to sob. He didn't know why he was crying, he was certain he'd never be able to explain any of his recent actions once he stopped. But it didn't matter now, he needed this breakdown. "…d-don't leave…please…"

Sebastian smiled softly and tightened his grip as best he could, "…I won't, my lord, I promise…"


	3. Disturbance

Ciel clung desperately to Sebastian's crisp tailcoat, his hands gripped so tightly at the fabric that the wrinkles he produced by the pressure and heat of his clenched fists would be difficult to remove. Such a fact would have been quickly brought to Sebastian's attention had he cared; wrinkles, tear stains, scuffed shoes, trivial things such as these were the furthest thing from his mind at the moment. All that mattered to him was comforting his young master.

Ciel's body shook; his back rose and fell sporadically with his continuing sobs, over three years of anguish and pain were pouring out…there was no stopping it, no matter how strong he was –or pretended to be- the pain wouldn't stop coming.

"…Why…" He managed to choke out, his words muffled by his closeness to Sebastian's chest.

Sebastian answered calmly as he gently rubbed Ciel's back, "Why what, young master?.."

"Wh-why the hell did you leave me?!" His words, clear to him, were nothing more than muffled sobs and coughs, "In the streets of L-london…Why did you leave me in that hell?!" In a moment of further weakness, he began whimpering, "…I-I needed you…"

As they were spoken directly into him, as his master's feelings were no longer hidden to him down here, Sebastian understood every syllable. The pain and loneliness in each word stabbed his demon heart with icy blades of guilt, "…I was always watching you, my lord. I was never far away…" He sighed, regretting his choices even more, "Do you not remember? As you were making your trek to London, you spoke to me once; you requested we keep each other warm as night fell…"

Sebastian's gentle tone would have made him blush had his face not been burned red by his tears; he clearly remembered speaking those words to a cat…a red-eyed cat…for a moment, his crying stopped, "You…" His teeth gritted together as the tears began flowing once more but with greater force, "You scratched me and ran away, you bastard!" He weakly pounded on Sebastian's chest with one tightly clenched fist, "You were _never _there!"

"You handled me too roughly, a creature as delicate as a cat can't be held so tightly around the ribs…my reaction, cruel as it may seem to you, was only natural…" His tone was calm, gentle; he was still trying to calm Ciel while trying –and failing- to defend his own past actions.

"Shut up!" He pounded Sebastian's chest once more, "Just shut up!" He was getting tired of Sebastian's attitude, but he couldn't bring himself to let go…Annoying as he was, his butler was just too much of a comfort to let go of.

Sebastian fell silent, following his master's order as he always had done and merely held Ciel, running his hand up and down the boy's spine in a slow, rhythmic pattern. As Ciel's shaking began to lessen, Sebastian smiled softly to himself; he wished to ask if he was feeling any better, but he was certain he's be met with another command of silence.

When sobs turned to softly shaking breaths, Sebastian quickly removed his hand from Ciel's back and, in one fluid movement, placed his bare palm against the boy's chest and pushed him back.

Wide-eyed, Ciel fell backwards, but he still clung tightly to the front of Sebastian's uniform; which, as he looked up at his butler with watering eyes, only seemed to make the demon grin. Fear shot through his small figure for several different reasons; Sebastian had not eaten since making the contract, perhaps even longer before, Ciel couldn't help but think that his present anguish and quickly welling fear had sent Sebastian's hunger over the edge.

As Sebastian once again leaned forward, Ciel couldn't help but follow the impulse to shrink away, but the strong hand of the demon as already pressing against his back…there was no way out.

Sebastian moved quickly this time, almost lunging forward, his immense upper body strength was the only thing that kept him from falling on top of Ciel as he allowed the boy to lay back just a little more. His grin remained on his face as he brought his lips closer to Ciel's and pressed them to the boy's once more in another kiss.

Ciel's eyes widened a little more in shock; again, he hadn't been expecting such an action. He made no effort to struggle, no words of protest demanded to be cast off his tongue, nothing…this felt far better than the last kiss he had been granted, he thought he could almost feel something behind the pleasant warmth of Sebastian's lips…he wasn't entirely sure what, but something was indeed there. He lessened his grip on Sebastian's uniform; the demon's strong hand would support him, and slowly began to close his eyes.

With a half lidded glance at Sebastian's he suddenly found that his tears had stopped altogether, there was a comfort he couldn't explain behind his butler's lips…it felt incredible. His body relaxed and his eyes started to slide closed as he melted into the kiss...such an action should not be enjoyed so much, not when it was from another man! Regardless he began to make the attempt to return it, his eyes half open as he stared blankly past Sebastian, a frustrated blush on his cheeks due to his obvious inexperience.

His grip tightened slightly on his butler's tear-stained tailcoat as he tried to press himself into the kiss, tilting his head slightly to the left...he had been unfortunate enough to witness Lau with one of his many women kissing in such a manner, it was only now that he found that mildly scarring moment to be useful.

For that moment, time seemed to come to a standstill, what felt like a lifetime had been but a few seconds. The relaxing feeling that had washed over him was broken almost instantly by the infinitely long reach of a steel trimmer zipping past the back of Sebastian's head.

"...Disgusting..." Will's mirthless voice would have seemingly come from nowhere had the long reach of his Death Scythe not given away his position. As William retracted his piercing weapon, the head reconnected to the shaft with a surprisingly soft 'click'. Out of force of habit, he readjusted his glasses with his Scythe before he spoke, "A demon and a human, two males no less…such an action between you two is appalling…"

Ciel pulled away from the kiss with a soft gasp as he stared wide-eyed at Sebastian who, by outward appearance, seemed completely unaffected by the kiss. The small smirk observed on Sebastian's face said not that he enjoyed what had just happened between them, but that he had expected what had happened behind them. He now saw that Sebastian had pushed him down to avoid the Death Scythe, that had to be it. And the kiss…the kiss was nothing…he had tried to get into it for nothing…He felt like a fool.

His face burned red, he hated this feeling pulsating through him. He felt so good just a minute ago…when he thought Sebastian was kissing him the second time simply because he wanted to and not as a distraction, a warm feeling rushed through him that he hadn't felt since his parent were alive…that annoying smirk on Sebastian's face ripped it all away from him again.

"…Get away from me…"

Sebastian looked down at Ciel, concerned, "Young master?"

"Get away from me!" His body was still weak and trembling from his breakdown, regardless, he pushed Sebastian away from him with all the strength he could muster. Once out of Sebastian's grasp, he turned his back on his butler and, unable to find the strength in his legs to get up and walk away, curled up, holding his knees tightly to his chest. His body began to tremble from silent sobs once again; he couldn't stop it, and the fact that William was present to witness his continuing breakdown was only making him feel worse.

He attempted to voice his dislike of the two being present, but any and all complaints were lost so deep in his sobs, even Sebastian's ears could not interpret them.

Sebastian bowed his head slightly to silently apologize to his young master before standing to address William, "I must say I'm shocked to see you here." He regarded the Reaper with a blunt tone, making his already well known dislike obvious, "I would think one such as you wouldn't willingly venture here." He took a step towards William, doing as Ciel asked and distancing himself from Ciel yet remaining close as he had promised just moments ago, "To what do we owe this visit?"

"I'm not here for a friendly visit, _demon._" There was a great amount of disgust in William's normally calm voice, "There is absolutely no reason I would set foot in this Godforsaken place other than business."

"And what business might that be? Did one of your subordinates damn someone who didn't need to be damned?"

"Even the most incompetent of Reapers wouldn't make such a foolish mistake…" Sebastian's comment left William thoroughly annoyed, "The business I speak of regards you and your owner…" His sharp eyes fell on Ciel's shaking figure, "Who I see is still more or less among the living."

"Indeed he is…" The edge in Sebastian's voice said he didn't like the way William regarded Ciel, "There were complications in our contract. But I don't see why that would concern you; his soul does not need your judgment."

"Be that as it may---"

"Little Sebast!" Grell's singsong voice cut William off, but for once, he didn't seem to be annoyed by it. Much like his supervisor, Grell's voice seemed to come from nowhere, but his excitement couldn't keep him in hiding. The red Reaper burst out from the trees in his regular flamboyant fashion as he ran towards Sebastian, "Little Sebast! I was so afraid I'd never get to see you again!" He flung his arms around his 'Romeo' in an overly loving embrace, "Did you miss me?"

Grell's overenthusiastic affection towards Sebastian immediately disgusted him as always, "I can't say that I did…"

"You're only saying that because the boy's here." His voice carried the tone of a pouting child, "He doesn't seem too happy with you right now, so you can tell me how you really feel." He huffed, "You shouldn't care what that little human thinks anyway…" He giggled, pressing his hips into Sebastian as he whispered playfully, "I can offer you so much more; I'm full grown, after all."

Sebastian shivered, the mental images Grell's suggestions conjured were nearly traumatizing even for him, "Is this the business you spoke of, William?" He asked, obviously annoyed as he tried to break Grell's vice-like grip on him, "To bring me a little bit of Hell to compliment what I already have?"

"No, demon, as much as I find your discomfort amusing, it's not why we're here." His words came slowly, he was intentionally taking his time to prolong Sebastian's growing discomfort, "While cleaning out the streets of London, dispatching the great number of souls to their proper places, Grell came across something that belonged to you."

Grell nodded excitedly, nuzzling into Sebastian's side in the process, "Indeed I did! I was so excited when I found it, Little Sebast! I meant I'd get to see that handsome face of yours again!" To Sebastian's relief, Grell let go and skipped back playfully, hiding his hands behind his back, "I'll show it to you if you promise to give me a kiss afterwards." The sugar in his voice was nauseating.

"I wouldn't dare give someone like you a kiss."

Grell stomped his foot, his shark-like teeth clenched tightly, "Why not?! I saw you giving that stupid little whelp a kiss just now! What does he have that I don't have?!"

Sebastian narrowed his eyes, "I won't have you speak of the young master in such a manner…" He cast a glance back to Ciel, who still had his back turned to him. His body was still trembling.

"You're still calling him master?! Did someone hit you in your perfect head, my Little Sebast? I know all about how your little deal works, you did whatever he asked you to, now you can have a new master…" his angered looks quickly transformed into a grin as he pulled his hands out from behind his back, showing he was now in possession of Sebastian's severed arm, "And that master is me!"

"Grell…" William spoke up, but his present attempts at giving his opinion were completely overshadowed by Grell's excitement.

"Kneel down before me, Little Sebast!" He said playfully as he pointed to the ground directly in front of him, "Kneel down before me and undo my pants. Show 'Little Grell' how much you love it."

Sebastian stared at Grell, not moving an inch away from Ciel, A clear look of disgust on his face, "That's not how it works."

"It has to be!" Grell whined, "I have the arm you made your contract with, so you belong to me now!" Frustrated, he quickly turned to face William, "Will! Sebastian's not listening to me! Make him do what I say!"

"I will do no such thing, Grell." He cleared his throat, absentmindedly adjusting his glasses with his scythe, "Sebastian, you have a contractual obligation to fulfill with your owner. While I would much rather not have to associate with you ever again, if it is within my power, I cannot allow a valid contract to go unfulfilled." He cast a sharp glare at his subordinate, "Grell, give him the arm."

Grell huffed, "But I don't w---"

William cut off his whining with his ever stern voice, "Now, Grell."

His movements were slow as he moved back towards Sebastian, it was obvious he didn't want to relinquish the arm of one of the man men he was attracted to, but with one last protesting whine, he handed it over, "I hope his soul tastes nasty. So nasty that the only thing you'll want to do to get rid of the taste is make out with me…"

At Grell's words, a soft, sharp gasp escaped Ciel. Another wave of fear washed over him…his first order to Sebastian when they arrived was a demand of pain…it was only now that he realized all of this was playing out to that order. He was being forced to relive past pain all at once, and the pain of uncertain affection was placed on top of it…Sebastian had indirectly followed his order and carried it out perfectly, just as he always had.

The only words he was able to mutter out in his numbing fear was, "…This can't be…"

Sebastian's ears twitched very slightly as he looked back again, he had heard Ciel's soft words, felt the waves of fear rolling off of him. Regardless of what he thought at the moment, he smiled. "I didn't expect this to be in my possession again." He said bluntly as he held the light weight of his left arm in his right hand, "Nor did I expect it to be in such decent shape."

Even though it had been separated from his body for some time, it showed no signs of rot. It didn't seem to be at all singed from the fire nor bloated from the water of the Thames River. Even the clothing was perfectly intact; the glove was still a crisp white, the sleeve was still pressed as if he had just put it on, the only damage on it was on the upper arm where Ash had severed it. The overall condition made it seem as if he had just lost it no more than mere minutes ago.

"I kept it in perfect shape just for you, Little Sebast." He giggled, there was an excited smile on his face as he felt he had just pleased Sebastian with the condition in which he kept his severed arm, "It thanked me quite a bit in return."

"It…thanked you?" Grell's statement had confused him. As a demon, he enjoyed many abilities, but his body parts didn't have a mind of their own once they left the body, he was sure of that. There was no way his arm could have 'thanked' Grell, "Exactly what do you mean by that."

A playful giggle escaped his throat yet again as he skipped over to Sebastian's side, "I mean…" he cupped a hand over his mouth as he moved uncomfortably close to Sebastian's ear and whispered, "My little piece of you played with a big piece of me. Each night I had it, I begged, and it listened. It played with me for hours, Little Sebast, I had so much fun!" His tongue playfully stroked Sebastian's earlobe, "I still think you could make me come more than it did, if only you'd make love to me, my Little Sebast."

A look of trauma and absolute disgust plastered itself on Sebastian's face, "Get the hell away from me." His voice was uncommonly sharp as he forcefully shoved Grell away from him, "I absolutely refuse to do such things with you."

Regardless of the rough way he was shoved away, Grell grinned as he stumbled backwards, "Is that how you're going to be, Little Sebast? You can't be turned off by the thought of having sex with someone. What about the convent wench you so enthusiastically did, hm?"

"…That was strictly business; the young master told me to get information and that was the most efficient way to make her talk."

"You could have threatened to take her head off if she didn't relinquish the information your _master _demanded." He pouted, seemingly becoming more disgusted the longer he recalled the past event, "You seemed to enjoy her screaming. Would you like it better if I screamed for you?" A smile spread across his face as his whole body seemed to wiggle with excitement, "Oh, oh! No, I'm unclean! I'm unclean!" He giggled and blew a kiss as he whispered with a seductive tone to his voice, "Make me dirty, Little Sebast. Make me dirty many times over."

Sebastian refused to answer, Grell's behavior disturbing him a great deal. If he went deaf right now, he felt he wouldn't mind in the slightest, as long as he could no longer hear Grell's voice.

"Or…" Grell's voice took an angrier tone as he turned to Ciel. "Is it this little whelp that you want?" He bent and forcefully shoved his hands beneath Ciel's arm, lifting the boy up with a surprisingly small amount of resistance, "You seem to have enjoyed pressing your lips to his…" Still supporting Ciel's limp body, he traced a single finger around the child's lips, "…they're so thin and pale…I don't know what you find so kissable…" He playfully puckered his own lips and spoke with his normal playful ring, "Mine are far more kissable, Little Sebast. I know you'd enjoy them if you gave it a chance."

Sebastian no longer paid any attention to Grell's words; instead, he stared at Ciel's limp figure. Where there was once strength and determination, characteristics missing from even respectable adults, there was nothing but despair. His eyes were dull and listless, the defiant spark Sebastian found he had come to love was gone…Ciel had never allowed anyone to touch him, certainly not in the way Grell was handling him, and yet now he put up no fight…The few events that had come to pass in their short time in hell…the forbidden interaction between them had literally broken him

"Is it because he's so young?" Grell continued uninterrupted, not knowing his words had begun to fall on deaf ears, "I can be just as young looking as he is. Perhaps if I stole his clothing you'd be more attracted to me?" His hand played with the buttons on Ciel's undershirt, "Would you like that, hm?"

"Grell…" William finally spoke, allowing Grell to mess with Sebastian was wearing thin quickly, "Put the child down and leave Sebastian to his work. We may leave once their contract is complete."

"Oh, fine." Grell pouted and intentionally dropped Ciel with absolutely no regard to his physical safety, but he didn't move away, "I want to be as close I can to my lover while he does his work though."

William rolled his eyes, "Work quickly demon, I don't wish to be here any longer..."

The reluctance to comply emanated from Sebastian's person. He was absolutely certain that his link to the contract had been lost with his arm; now that it was back in his hands, he was torn…His entire body ached with the need for nourishment; as he had once been sure that all he needed was the soul of his master, he refused to partake in any other…but the promise he had made, the order he was given, he had promised to never leave Ciel's side, to never betray him.

Technically, his end of the bargain was fulfilled, if the contract was indeed still intact once his arm connected with his body again, Ciel's soul was rightfully his to take. But he was still obligated to follow any order that passed his master's lips. If their contract was no longer broken, it was certainly tied up in knots.

Slowly, he lifted his severed arm to its rightful place against his shoulder and his body did the rest. There was a soft hissing noise as flesh, bone, and muscle reconnected; it was just as any other moment he had sustained an injury, now that all the pieces were present, they easily fell back into their correct place.

Fiber and fabric did not have it in them to regain their severed connections; as such he still didn't quite feel like the proper butler he had strived to be. A single fabric out of place made him look rather disheveled and was quite unfitting for what he still felt he was.

Grell wiggled his entire body in excitement, "Take his soul! Take it quickly!" There was the trill of a giggle to his voice, "Once he's out of the way, there will be no one but me for you to turn to!"

Again, Sebastian ignored Grell's advancing words; it seemed that he too was partially broken. He stared down at his left hand, his fingers slowly opening and closing, testing to make sure all the proper connections had been made, "…There is an uncomfortable tingle in each of my fingers…" He shot a glance at Grell, who shivered in excitement to even have Sebastian's red eyes look in his direction, "I feel I can safely say that I would gladly dip my hand in Holy Water a hundred times over if it meant the skin that touched you was burned off…"

Grell stomped his foot again, the close proximity of the action to Ciel's body made the boy jump slightly as a reflex, "You're so mean to me!"

Not wanting to put the glove of his left hand to his mouth for fear of where Grell might have put that was well, Sebastian carefully removed the white fabric from his hand one finger at a time for no reason other than he wanted his attire to be at least partially symmetrical. As he slowly removed the glove, his eyes were glued to the middle of the back of his hand; if the mark was still there, he had to take his reward from Ciel. If it wasn't, he was locked into a life of servitude…the latter option had quickly become the one he knew he wouldn't mind.

His heart pounded in anticipation; even though he was the one removing the glove, he couldn't seem to make his movements go any faster than an agonizing crawl. An inch up, the fabric uncovered a black mark. His breath caught in his throat and, out of pure impatience, he quickly pulled the rest of the glove away, expecting the see the mark symbolizing the fact that he had to end his master completely.

Instead of the symbol of his Faustian pact that normally occupied the patch of skin on the back of his left hand, he saw something much different, something that was both a great relief and a great disturbance. Instead of his mark, there was a burn wound in the shape of a perfect circle. Over said wound was a crudely drawn picture in black ink of the man who held his arm for his own pleasure.

Once again, Sebastian shot a look at Grell, he obviously wasn't thrilled with the further violation of his hand, "…Exactly what is this?"

Grell squealed and danced back over to Sebastian's side, "Don't you love it, Little Sebast?" He grabbed Sebastian's left hand and held it in his own, tracing a single finger along the lines he had drawn, "When I found your hand, that silly mark of yours had begun to fade, but it wouldn't go away fast enough for me." His voice began to carry the tone of an angry pout, "If I was going to have a piece of you, I wasn't going to let it have anything connected to that little boy you serve…" He smiled again, the song returning to his voice, "So I burned it off and drew myself! Now you've always got me with you!"

Sebastian jerked his hand away, "I can't say I'm too happy about that…" In one smooth motion, he shifted, turning to face Grell, "Nor am I happy about the way you've treated my young master." He reached out with his right hand and grabbed Grell by the throat, "If you ever feel like handling him the way you have been ever again," He hissed, his demonic nature beginning to shine through as he tightened his grip, "do know that I won't allow you to live."

With the greatest of ease, he lifted Grell off the ground and, being intentionally and unnecessarily rough, threw him back over to William. "The business between me and my master is none of your concern, William." His red eyes flashed a soft red light as he spoke, "The next time you feel like meddling in my affairs, think it over a little longer, it will save us both the annoyance." With that he turned away, no longer wanting to pay attention to either of the Reapers.

William narrowed his eyes at Sebastian, not wanting to admit that he agreed this little side trip was a total waste of time. It might not have been had it not been for Grell… "You will be receiving several demerits for this, Grell." He spoke bluntly as he reached down and took a handful of his subordinate's red hair, "And for your actions, I will once again relieve you of your Death Scythe." With that blunt warning, he began dragging Grell away.

Tears spilled from Grell's eyes from both the pain of having his hair pulled and the fact that he was going to lose his beloved Death Scythe, "No, Will, please!" he begged as he flailed about, "Don't! I need my scythe! I need it!"

Much to Sebastian's relief, it didn't take long for the two to disappear, "I must say, all of this was entirely unnecessary," He cast a glance at Ciel, who was still lying limp where Grell had dropped him, "Don't you agree, young master?"

Ciel made no attempt to answer, which worried Sebastian greatly. "…I'm very sorry for what happened, young master…" His voice was soft and full of regret as he knelt beside Ciel, "I believe I know what you were thinking in the beginning…If you're actually listening to me, I want to point out that it wasn't true…My second kiss to you was indeed a real one, only the fact that I had pushed you back was meant to make you avoid Will's Scythe…" He gently picked Ciel up, cradling the boy as he continued to explain, "I only hope that you will believe and forgive me for what has happened…"

As if to answer his plea for forgiveness, Ciel wrapped his arms around Sebastian's neck, clinging to his loyal butler for protection and burying his face into his shoulder like the child he still was, "…"

Sebastian smiled softly and stroked Ciel's back as he once again began walking to fulfill his master's order, "Thank you, my lord…"


	4. Personal Hell

Behind tightly closed eyes, all he could see was darkness. There was nothing around him; no light, no sound, no feeling. It was as if his body, weakened by his shameful fit of crying, had given up on all senses, fulfilling a silent wish to go comatose after making a fool of himself moments ago.

Despite his inability to move, his mind kept running; if he were to give up now, would he see Sebastian again? Would his loyal butler find a way to accompany him in his -hopefully- forever unconscious state?

_Sebastian_...the name constantly echoed through his mind, turning up no matter where his thoughts chose to run. Sebastian had said he thought Ciel was strong for his age, for a human…but certainly that opinion must have changed with his little display. The image of strength he previously held had more than likely been replaced with an image of sniveling cowardice…the only reason he was staying now was because he was obligated to due to the contract…that's all it was…

Disappointment exhausted his mind, jumping from thought to thought only to come to further heartbreak…it was tiring…he just wanted it to stop…

No sooner than he had felt himself drift into unconsciousness, he was woken gently by a low noise emanating from somewhere outside his mental walls. It was difficult to concentrate on, the dull hum occasionally seemed to fall away before picking up again, making his mind strive to capture it, to identify it…The process in itself was painfully annoying, but he didn't feel he cared enough to open his eyes to find the noise himself.

As the noise grew slightly louder, he was at the very least able to make out what it was…A melody, soft and childlike, yet dark and foreboding. Someone was softly humming a melody of some sort, but who was it? Sebastian was too close to him, even if he was humming at the softest volume he could muster, it wouldn't seem nearly as far away…It was too deep to be Grell and he knew William wouldn't dare hum…Who was it in this underworld who felt happy enough to hum any sort of tune?

To answer his question, and to further prove him wrong, the one humming stopped for just a moment before speaking the final words of the song in perfectly melodic voice, "My. Fair. Lady…"

Ciel's eyes snapped open immediately only to be met with the darkness of fabric, "…Sebastian?.." A shiver racked his body as he again felt his heart skip a beat. The humming, the voice that spoke, it all belonged to his butler. Why on earth would he be humming? Did Ciel's pain roll off him so strongly that it was enough to feed from? Did his continuing anguish sustain the demon to the point where he was happy enough to hum that dreadful tune?

Despite the fact that he had spoken a question, clearly proving that he was awake and in a stronger state of mind, Sebastian continued humming. The tune faded in and out curiously on the wind, Ciel couldn't help but wonder where they were…Very slowly, he lifted his head to look around only to find that he was no longer surrounded by the grey landscape of the underworld, nor was he clinging to Sebastian. Instead he saw the familiar interior of his room within the Phantomhive mansion…

Everything was in place despite the fact that he clearly remembered the entire building being up in flames for the second time…How much time had passed between the time he had fallen asleep on Sebastian's shoulder to when they arrived back in the world of the living?..Sebastian may be incredibly resourceful, but even a demon wouldn't be able to rebuild the mansion itself, replicating every last detail, in the seconds he felt had passed between sleep and consciousness.

"…What is this?.." He mumbled sleepily as he sat up in his king sized bed, "Sebastian?"

Again, the humming stopped momentarily only to be capped off by Sebastian's strangely melodic voice, "My. Fair. Lady…"

Ciel gritted his teeth, his annoyance towards Sebastian was once again growing, "Sebastian, stop with that annoying tune. I don't wish to hear it any longer." His voice was sharp and clear, the former defiance and pride returning to his being…regardless of his tone, which commanded respect, the humming did not stop. "If you're going to hum, then…" His words lashed out like whips, "At least switch to a different verse."

Sebastian didn't confirm anything as he normally did. Rather, Ciel's half order was met with nothing but the echo of a mocking chuckle. As the constant stream of humming continued from its place, nestled securely in the corners of nowhere, Ciel realized what was going on, Sebastian was toying with him. After his actions in the underworld, Sebastian no longer saw Ciel as someone worthy of respect. As such, he was playing with his mind, trying to get him to break down again so he could revel in the waves of pain...there was no other explanation that could be any more sound than that.

"You think I'm weak now, do you?" he snarled from his place in the bed, "This is an order, Sebastian, stop this nonsensical humming and come to me at once!"

Sebastian said nothing, only his humming continued.

Infuriated, Ciel tossed his covers away from his body, revealing he was in his night clothes, proving to him that Sebastian hadn't completely abandoned his sense of duty. "I'll show you to disobey me. I am still your master; you're to listen to me!"

He swung his legs around to the side of the bed and pushed himself away from the edge. The second his bare feet hit the floor, his vision faded for a moment, the decorated walls of his room flickered and swayed. Before his very eyes wallpaper began to wither and peel, brass fixtures began to tarnish; the room crumbled around him as years of age began to show itself within just a few seconds.

He swayed a little, staggering backwards an inch or two as his balance waned. His feet kicked up small clouds of dust as he attempted to keep his footing; the powdery substance beneath him was at least an inch thick. He shook his head, trying to clear the dizziness he assumed was brought about by standing up too quickly, "What is all this?"

Again, Sebastian's mocking chuckle echoed through the room, it sounded as if he was taking pleasure in his master's confusion.

"Sebastian?" His voice was more questioning than it was demanding to know where his butler was hiding. The sudden change in scenery around him invoked a twinge of fear that made his heart skip a beat; he now just wanted to see a familiar face in a place that was slowly growing unfamiliar.

The dust he had kicked up a minute ago irritated his nose, causing an almost painful tingling sensation around the bridge…He wiggled his nose a little, trying to make the sensation away and stave off the oncoming sneeze, but his attempts were useless. The irritation forced him to sneeze, much to his annoyance. Within the second he had to close his eyes, the room around him had returned to normal.

Before he had the chance to question it, Sebastian's voice echoed from nowhere once more, "Don't be rude, young master, cover your mouth when you sneeze. And excuse yourself afterward."

That tone...it was obvious Sebastian didn't respect him any longer, and that drove a spike of anger right through him, "If you had dusted as you should have, I wouldn't have sneezed in the first place!" he gritted his teeth audibly, "Now get in here and do your job!"

His outburst was met with yet another clip of mocking laughter, but before he could scold Sebastian once more, he was cut off by the rumble of an explosion downstairs.

"Young master!" Finnian's feminine voice shouted from the rooms below.

Ciel grumbled, Bardroy must have been experimenting with the flamethrower to prepare a meal as he almost always did. Why Finnian had cried out for assistance instead of his bumbling chef, he didn't know, but despite the fact he was certain there would be a gaping hole in the wall somewhere near the kitchen when he got downstairs, he couldn't help but smile a little. Aside from Sebastian's actions towards him, things finally seemed to be back to normal. Rather, as normal as things could possibly get within the Phantomhive mansion.

As he started towards his door, slowly feeling better about things despite the welling anger of facing yet another repair, Sebastian started up once more. Only this time, he didn't just hum, he sang in full verse, his voice becoming more haunting than usual.

"London Bridge is building up, building up, building up. London Bridge is building up. My. Fair. Lady."

A chill ran down his spine as he momentarily stopped in the doorframe. Admittedly, the words Sebastian sang were a more upbeat turn for the song itself; the bridge was never rebuilt in the original version…but there was something about the way he crooned out the words that made the entire thing seem darker than it truly was.

Shaking off the sudden feeling of dread that had overcome him, he continued down the hallway, for the moment not caring that he was still in a simple nightshirt. He couldn't help but notice that the mansion itself smelled different, the hint of newness and age that normally mixed so perfectly into a pleasantly comforting scent had been replaced by something he knew he had smelled before. It wasn't the ash or smoke that normally accompanied an explosion brought about by his bumbling chef, it was a little more offensive…certainly not the scent of the month that local vendors might try and peddle.

Despite the fact that the scent was beginning to make his stomach churn, his nose continued to twitch as he attempted to get a better smell. The fact that he knew what this was but couldn't place it was quickly getting on his nerves. He closed his eyes, trying to remember where he was when he had smelled this first…cutting off one sense had indeed helped him, memories the scent invoked flashed before his mind's eye…

Jars filled with strange liquid, the forever grayed interior of an old shop…a brief glimpse of an empty coffin…He stopped before he blindly stepped onto the stairs leading to the main foyer as the scent's identification finally came to him. He had smelled it many times within the Undertaker's shop…this was the scent of death.

Sebastian again began to sing, the dark undertones of the song making the realization all the more disturbing. "Being made from iron and steel, iron and steel, iron and steel. Being made so strong of will. My. Fair. Lady."

Almost immediately after the realization of the scent, after Sebastian continued to sing his made-up version of the song, a new explosion erupted from the floor below him. The noise nearly deafened him; he could feel the heat blasted into his face scorching his delicate skin. As he dared to open his eyes, tears immediately spilled from them, not from the image he saw before him, but from the intense heat and complete lack of moisture in the air.

Fire began to crawl up the stairs below him, snaking towards him as if it knew he was its true target. He wanted to turn and run, fear was not holding him back this time; as his left foot slowly inched backwards as he prepared to run, Finnian's frightened voice called out to him once more.

"Young master!" He choked out, the fact that he was crying was evident in his voice, "P-please, help me! Please!"

Despite the fear emanating from his very core, a stronger drive kicked in. He had been unable to rescue his parents, or even Tanaka, from the fire set to his home long ago…he wasn't going to lose anyone else –even if it was his incompetent servant- to a blaze set by someone who was aiming to only end him. As he shakily began to step down the stairs to face the fire and find his gardener, Sebastian began singing once again, his voice resounding clearly above the roar of the fire.

"The Bridge makers have made a flaw, made a flaw, made a flaw. The Bridge makers will die in awe. My. Fair. Lady."

Ciel opened his mouth to protest, to demand that Sebastian stop his singing of his increasingly disturbing song, but all that came out was a hoarse squeak. He didn't understand, he had been near the harshness of the blaze for only a few minutes at best, Finnian had been somewhere within it for a much longer time and he still had his full voice to cry out with.

As it had quickly become commonplace, Ciel's confusion was met with only a mocking laugh from Sebastian.

Had he been able to spare the breath, Ciel would have huffed. With Sebastian's constant mocking, he had new resolve to spite his butler and prove he wasn't the sniveling coward he had melted into in a moment of extreme weakness. Finnain's life was important, but so was his own reputation.

While he knew from experience that it wouldn't help, he slipped the front collar of his night shirt over his mouth and nose and cupped his hand tightly over the fabric. This wouldn't last for very long, he'd have to breathe sooner or later…and the fact that only scorched air and smoke would be entering his lungs at his first deep breath; he feared that he himself wouldn't last very long either.

Regardless, he stepped forward, his eyes locked on the flames that had made their way up the stairs. This was going to hurt in a matter of minutes, he didn't need to experience the pain of having his flesh burnt any sooner than necessary.

As he reached the bottom of the stairs, the wall of fire parted before him at what sounded like the sharp crack of a whip, clearing a path for him to walk all the way through the main foyer. The fire lining either side of the path didn't die down, yet, as he cautiously touched the tip of his bare big toe to the ruined floor…He expected a searing pain and, due to his mental expectations, he pulled back almost immediately…but there was no pain, no burning sensation ripped through him as he thought it would. Only a smudge of black dotted his toe.

He didn't understand, it was common knowledge that something immediately removed from an intense heat would be hot…yet his floor was cool to the touch. Wanting to explore this phenomenon further, he stepped off the bottom step and into the ashes that now made up his floor.

"Young master, please!" Finnian choked out above the flames, aside from the obvious strain of tears, his voice was still clear as a bell, "I-I don't want to die!"

Ciel's eyes flicked up immediately after hearing his gardener's voice, it sounded as if Finnian was right in front of him. At the end of the ashen path, a sudden burst of flame drew his attention to the fact that the walkway above the main entrance had collapsed. The fire had made short work of the columns and now their remains along with the massive pieces of the walkway they supported lay in a heap in front of the large front door. Finnian must have been trapped there as he tried to escape the fire.

He quickened his steps, Finnian was an incredibly strong young man, he had often lifted things three times the size of what he was apparently trapped under…if he was unable to lift the rubble away, there had to have been something wrong with him.

Once again, Sebastian's voice rang out clearly over the fire. It seemed that only he himself was affected by the heat of the blaze, "Now the Bridge is coming down, coming down, coming down. People are falling to the ground. My. Fair. Lady."

A wave of dread washed over him completely, in those melodic words, he could hear Sebastian telling him there was no use in trying to brave this fire. There was no use in trying to rescue the one servant who called out to him…all would end in failure one way or another. _I'm not giving in, Sebastian! _He shouted in his own mind as his mouth was still unable to form words, _No one will be lost in this tonight! _Again, Sebastian laughed, which only served to push Ciel further in his endeavor.

His blurring vision greatly hindered his sight, as he continued to tread the charred path; he lost his footing and fell forward on his face. In order to catch himself, he was forced to let go of his crudely fashioned gas mask. Ash, smoke, and heated air rushed into his lungs, causing him to cough and gasp for precious air…his gasps only invited further irritants into his young lungs and panic rushed through him as he struggled to push himself up.

While obvious damage had been done from inhaling smoke and ash, he quickly replaced his hand over his mouth to futilely prevent more smoke from entering and turned around to see just what had caused him to fall. He weakly crawled back a few inches, what had looked like a part of the black path now took a form before his eyes…a familiar form.

His heart raced as ash was blown away by a wind that went unfelt by him. Black wingtip shoes, custom tailored uniform, and white gloves were slowly revealed to him inch by inch as the soot and ash drifted away into the fire…but none of that made his stomach churn more than the sight of the face of a knowledgeable old man and a loyal servant of the family.

_Tanaka… _was his only thought as he fought to keep the bile out of his mouth. He had just said to himself that no one would be lost…and yet here lay Tanaka's body, oddly preserved despite the intensity of the flames, but it was painfully clear he was no longer among the living. His blood boiled within him, not due to the heat, but due to anger. Sebastian had done this, simply to spite his thoughts and determination, Sebastian had tossed Tanaka's body in the path, showing that once again, Ciel was wrong.

"Those who are not dead yet, dead yet, dead yet. Will be crushed under London Bridge. My. Fair. Lady."

Rather than carrying a thick feeling of dread within the lyrics of the song, Sebastian's voice now sounded more mocking than his laugh…he truly had done this.

"…Young master…"

Before he had the chance to think of a reply to mentally shout to Sebastian, Mey-Rin's hoarse voice choked out just barely above the roar of the fire. His eyes flicked about, he had no idea that she was in this area of the blaze as well…but it was nice to hear her alive. As he looked about, trying to see if she was closer to him than Finnian –as well as trying to avoid resting his gaze upon Tanaka's corpse- a standing shadow within the fire caught his eye. Was his maid standing within the fire? If she was, why wasn't she screaming like Finnian?

To answer his question, Mey-Rin's flame enshrouded figure wavered within the inferno and fell forward without a single noise. His stomach churned as the upper half of his maid's body fell out of the fire onto the path of ash; where Tanaka looked as if he were perfectly preserved her body looked as if she died in a war zone. What part of her body didn't look charred was riddled with bullet holes; her face was partially decomposed, her eyes merely hollow sockets, the light of the fire offering an even more gruesome image of what remained within her skull.

His heart pounded at a dangerously fast rate, he had clearly heard Mey-Rin's voice above the fire and yet here she lay dead before him? Was it possible for fire to make a sound much like that of a human voice? As his thoughts began to spin, he found he could no longer concentrate on such trivial questions; all he wanted to know is why this was happening."

From behind him, Finnian shouted again, "Young master!"

His fear filled voice ripped right through Ciel. But the young master he so desperately cried out for couldn't find it in his body to get up and tend to what he was needed for. The sight before him, two of his servants laying dead and an absent butler possibly to blame, had paralyzed him almost completely. As much as his mind commanded his body to run, his legs simply would not regain their feeling to cooperate.

"…Young master…"

Another voice called out to him, a hoarse rasp from within the flames. This voice was different; it didn't carry the elegant tones of an English accent that Mey-Rin's had carried. It was rather rough, almost primitive compared to what he was used to hearing; this was the voice of Bardroy.

Ciel quickly closed his eyes, he knew exactly what was coming next and he didn't want to see it. Unfortunately, he hadn't taken the moment to take note of Bardroy's place within the fire as he had done with Mey-Rin and his incompetent chef's partially decomposed body fell right into his lap.

His eyes snapped open as he felt the dead body fall onto him. Bardroy's body had fallen backwards onto him as if someone had shoved him from the front; his condition was just as bad as Mey-Rin's. It looked as if someone had stood him in front of a firing squad and tossed his bullet-filled body into a pyre…only the job of disposing of his body was left unfinished. His hollowed out eyes stared up into his master's frightened heterochromic ones.

Ciel's mouth opened wide in a soundless scream, once again allowing ash and smoke to enter his lungs. Despite his current inability to breathe, his entire body found its ability to feel. As quickly as he possibly could he shoved Bardroy's body off of him, causing it to land on top of Tanaka's still perfectly preserved corpse, and scrambled to his feet. His stance wavered a little, his legs were still partially numb, but that didn't stop him from running as fast as he possibly could in the other direction.

Finnian's place of entrapment lay just ahead of him, but he didn't know why he was running towards yet another one of his servants…three had just fallen dead, two of which had spoken to him through death…and one was watching from someplace he still was unsure of…watching and laughing. Perhaps he hoped that since Finnian's voice was clearly the strongest aside from Sebastian's, that he was still among the living, that he could still be saved.

It wasn't until he ran into the pile of rubble that trapped his gardener that he realized he had closed his eyes while running. The shift in debris caused Finnian to cry out again, "Y-young master?" His voice trembled, "I-is that you?" he took in a deep shuttering breath, the fact that Ciel had actually come to his rescue momentarily masked his fear and replaced it with a great amount of gratitude, "Thank goodness! Please help me, young master!" Regardless of what he was feeling or what emotion he meant to convey with his words, it still came out in a frightened sob.

With quickly weakening hands, he pulled away boards and parts of a formerly finely crafted banister and miraculously made a hole big enough for him to crawl into. As he carefully squeezed himself into the small opening, he realized he was once again able to breathe easily, despite the fact that there were indeed holes in the pile for smoke to flow through; there was nothing but clean air flowing through this small area. That explained why Finnian still had the breath to cry out, but the reason why this was possible went unexplained.

"…Y-young master…" Now that he knew Ciel was inside the pile, his screaming quieted to a frightened volume below his normal voice, "…P-please, come closer…I'm hurt…"

Ciel had been right; there was something wrong with Finnian. To what extent, however, he didn't know. He crawled closer, avoiding splinters and nails as he moved forward, and finally spoke out, "Who did this?" He demanded, his voice only mildly concerned despite what he was feeling, "Who started this fire?"

Finnian sniffed, "I-I don't know…Mr. Sebastian gave us our orders for today…a-and just as I was about t-to go outside…f-fire erupted from nowhere!" He began sobbing again, "I don't know what happened! I d-don't know where the others are…and…"

Finnian's sudden silence frightened Ciel further, had he died? Was the stress of what was happening too much for his body and heart? He quickened his movements to finally reach Finnian at the very back of the enclosure. There was something obviously off about him already, though his body was still, his hands where raised, tightly gripping at his straw hat that was now resting at the top of his head rather than hanging off the back, revealing the tattoo on his neck that read _'_S-012'.

Ciel knew for a fact that Finnian would never allow the tattoo connected to his torturous past to show, the fact that it was showing now disturbed him…what was there to be hidden on Finnian's head that was so important to reveal his tattoo instead? As he reached out with a shaking hand to see if Finnian reacted to a touch, before his fingertips could even brush against his gardener's uniform, the blond-haired man in front of him turned around and lashed out with both hands, grabbing Ciel tightly around the wrist.

Ciel winced and tried not to cry out in pain, Finnian's immense grip strength immediately broke his wrist. As he turned his frightened, pain-filled eyes to Finnian, his breath caught in his throat, where he had thought his gardener was only injured to the point where he couldn't move, it seemed as though the young man before him was no exception to the tortures of this household hell.

Grabbing Ciel with both hands had caused his hat to fall off with the sudden movement, revealing that Finnian's blond hair had all fallen out; he was bald just as he had been when he first arrived at the Phantomhive manor. His face was streaked with red, rather than crying regular tears, blood had spilled from his eyes and continued to do so. Purple and red dots lined his arms where needles had pricked his skin for injections…and they looked fresh. It was as if he had recently escaped from his captors all over again.

Finnian squeezed harder, the bones in Ciel's wrist making a sickening crunch as he finished what he had started saying just a moment ago, "…Mr. Sebastian told me this was all your fault, young master! He told me that you're the reason I'm trapped here, why I can't see the sun again!" His normally gentle voice was slowly filling with hate, "Why did you do this to me, young master! I trusted you!"

Before Ciel could form an answer, the wall of debris behind them crumbled away, shedding the harsh light of hellfire on them both. He jerked around, wincing as Finnian still had a vice grip on his wrist, and gasped at what he saw moving through the flames. Tanaka, Bardroy, and Mey-Rin's corpses had stood and were now making their way towards him…though they had no eyes –Tanaka's seemed to be permanently closed- he could easily tell they were looking upon him with hatred as well.

"…Young master…" They spoke in unison, their smoke-roughened voices making it all the more frightening, "…You. Damned. Us all…" They inched ever closer, and Ciel couldn't move any further without having his arm ripped from its socket, "…We. Trus-"

Before they could finish their combined sentence, the sharp crack of a whip, like the one that had parted the fire, cut them off. "You're quite the liar, young master…" Sebastian's voice came from nowhere yet again, "Giving these poor people a better life only to damn them to hell with you in the long run? Are you proud of yourself?"

Before Ciel could answer yet again, Sebastian began singing, "After all is said and done," Another crack of a whip, and Tanaka's body fell away into ash, "said and done," another, and the same happened to Mey-Rin's corpse, "said and done." Once more and Bardroy's body dissolved into ash, "The bloody scene cleaned up and done. My. Fair. Lady."

As the first three servants dissipated into ash, Sebastian himself stepped from the fire. While Ciel was expecting Sebastian to be in roughly the same shape as the others, he couldn't seem to make himself look away.

His butler's body was, as always, perfect, but the form he took was far from what Ciel was used to. The wicked black stiletto boots were something he recognized, it was all he had been allowed to glimpse anytime Sebastian took his true form, but the black leggings, the leather corset, magnificent black feathered wings and curved horns were entirely new…Sebastian's true for was terrifying, but oddly alluring.

A shiver ran down Ciel's spine as he saw the whip gripped in Sebastian's hands…he had no idea where the inappropriate thought had come from, but he liked it.

"You damned me to hell, young master!" Finnian shouted once again now that his competition had been dispatched, "I never did anything wrong! I was the victim my entire life!" Before he could say anymore to scold his once beloved master, another crack of Sebastian's provocative whip turned him to ash just as it had the others.

Ciel grabbed a hold of his aching wrist and stared up in awe at Sebastian, who now seemed rather bored, "You frighten so easily, _Ciel._" He spat out his master's name like it was poison, "I take back what I had said about you before; you're a weak little brat just as I have always thought you were…" His glowing red eyes narrowed on Ciel, a smirk played on his face as the boy refused to shrink away, "But perhaps I should take pity on you…"

He stepped forward, his heels hitting the ground like heavy nails, making a metallic sound despite the fact that there was no metal beneath him, "…" Gracefully as he always was, he knelt in front of Ciel and gently caressed his master's face, "…Do you want me to take you away from all of this?.." His voice was gentle yet rumbling and seductive.

Ciel leaned into Sebastian's gentle hand, his entire body melting at the touch as he closed his eyes and nodded, "…Yes, Sebastian…Take me away…"

Sebastian chuckled softly, the mocking tone back yet again, "As you wish, _Ciel…" _As he leaned in, the final verse of his song echoed around him though his mouth did not move, "Fools they are, they start again, start again, start again. And start the clock of death again. My. Fair. Lady…"

His lips once again touched the now severely chapped lips of his young master in a surprisingly passionate kiss. His mouth watered profusely, his own saliva welcomingly wetting Ciel's parched mouth…this time the young man he kissed could feel his life leaving his body, but he didn't care, after what he witnessed, he knew he didn't deserve to 'live' any longer.

As darkness enveloped him for the final time, he communicated his final thought, _Enjoy your meal, Sebastian… _

…

Ciel's eyes snapped open as he lifted his head off Sebastian's shoulder; his loyal butler was still in his human form and continued to carry him through the long stretch of nothingness that was hell. "Wh-what?.." He muttered sleepily as he tried to calm his pounding heart.

"Oh?" Ciel's soft words had caught Sebastian's attention, "You're awake, young master? Did you enjoy your rest?" His voice carried no mocking, simply concern.

Ciel sighed and rested his forehead against Sebastian's shoulder, "…No…I didn't…"

"It must have been some dream you were having. You have quite a grip."

Ciel's heavy-lidded eyes looked down at his left hand, he was gripping Sebastian very tightly, it must have hurt. As he relaxed his grip, he sighed again, it was obvious he was tired after such a nightmare, "I'm sorry…"

Sebastian chuckled softly, "It's quite alright, young master. It only strengthens the point I made earlier, you are indeed a strong young man." He sounded as if he were quite proud of Ciel even after the way he acted, but his tone quickly returned to being concerned, "…Would you like to talk about what you were dreaming? It sounded terrible, perhaps talking would help?.."

"…No…" Ciel shifted a little, relaxing his grip with both hands and moving them to a more comfortable position closer to Sebastian's neck, "…Just hold me for a little while longer…"

Sebastian smiled softly, though Ciel could not see it, "Yes, my lord."


End file.
